Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

32 reviews

sourday's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i didn't know this book was THIS sad. If i find the story melancholic, i won't read the sequels, but damn, i'm hooked.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

corporatelobotomy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

this was just... sad. that's all i can say. so, so incredibly sad. it's true when they say all children deserve parents, but not all parents deserve children.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

flounder416's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Abandonment

sofipitch's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

So this was one of the few books in my childhood I was actually told not to read bc of the content, and I didn't know where to get it so I didn't. So I do feel the need to defend it on those grounds, there are also a lot of negative reviews calling it gross and such. And compared to something like Lapvona it is well put together, Lapvona is just an author putting every bad thing she can think of into a book so by the third incest/cannibalism/ whatever it's just boring and tacky. Here the incest and rape are a result of the abuse the MCs face, which is the result of histories of abuse from the family. In that regards I feel like it actually wants to explore what the themes at the same time as it wants to shock you.
The biggest flaw is that it's not well written, it reads like someone's first attempt at writing/first novel, it is clunky and just a bit meh. I wanted more given the gothic genre. Cathy is also reading a book once and says she likes to pause over pretty phrases, same, but I only did that once or twice. It also has pacing issues.
But I can see the appeal as a gothic fiction lover and think if kids/teens want to read this one they should be able to. It picks up near the end and becomes more thriller like

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Incest, and Death of parent

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

12546darcy7890's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Incest, Misogyny, and Rape

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death

moony__3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Cannibalism

dodger's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting

dizzyizzyy's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

stars_and_stags's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I really enjoyed this book. I understand why it is controversial, but the main characters were making the best of a horrific situation. 

Generational trauma is a curse that plagues so many families. 

Overall, well written and very accurate to how teenagers would speak. I am glad I read it though parts were hard to get through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

turpial23's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

1.0

Basically a narrative of many types of child abuse, in graphic detail. No actual plot, no character growth, not even exceptional writing - just misery and terror. Not apt for children. I would never recommend this series to anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail